Hi friends, welcome back to my Italy series! After spending five days in Rome, Jon and I were looking forward to ending the trip relaxing in Positano. We hopped on a train for about an hour from Rome to Naples, and then I arranged a car service to drive us the remaining hour and a half to Positano. I booked through Euro Limo both ways and they were great. You can also take a ferry or regional train and bus to get to Positano, but it can take double the time and there’s also the risk of cancellations. The car service gave us the option to add excursions onto the trip like Pompeii and Hurculaneum, but we needed a break from sightseeing.
As we got closer to Positano, the roads became a bit precarious and we were very happy not to be driving ourselves along the edge of the cliff. Positano is situated on a cliff with two roads that go through town. Our hotel was at the bottom of the cliff, so we got dropped off at the top and had about 400 steps down. Most hotels have a porter that can carry your bags, but we pack light and figured we could at least handle them going down.
We stayed at Hotel Pupetto and I booked this hotel because my parents stayed here for their 25th wedding anniversary and absolutely loved it. The hotel is on the smaller beach in Positano so it’s very quiet and not overrun with tourists getting dropped off by ferry. We were only a beautiful five-minute walk to the main beach and didn’t have to go up and down all the steps. We loved our room, especially the balcony. It was clean, spacious, and the views were spectacular. Hotel Pupetto is the pinkish building and our room was on the top floor on the far right.
After settling into our room, we headed up the steps to Casa E Bottega for lunch. This was one of our favorite spots of the trip. We loved the freshness of the dishes and would highly recommend stopping in, especially if you’re looking for healthier options. We started with some ricotta and spinach gnocchi and then I got the sweet and sour shrimp rice bowl and Jon ordered the seared tuna rice bowl. We finished with some matcha cheesecake. In addition to the delicious food they also have gorgeous ceramics for sale and the cafe is stunning inside. Make sure you get there early because there’s usually a wait and they’re only open 9-3.
We went to Saracen O’Doro for our first dinner in Positano and shared a wood fire pizza and good seafood pasta. It did seem a bit like they were rushing people through which isn’t typical in Italy.
Il Ritrovo is located up in the hills of Positano and provides a free shuttle for guests. The views are incredible and the food is delicious! We loved the fresh octopus and pasta dishes. Our only complaint was the ravioli only came with three pieces.
Every morning we had coffee and breakfast downstairs at the hotel and the view was just so beautiful. I wish I could have my morning cappuccino and espresso here every day.
Mimi Pizzeria is in Ravello and was our favorite pizza of the entire trip! Highly recommend going here in between your visits to the beautiful villas
Da Vincenzo was our favorite restaurant in Positano and we dined here on our anniversary. We loved everything we ordered, especially the tuna and seafood risotto. The tiramisu was the perfect conclusion to our meal. I made our reservation a few months in advance because this place is very popular!
Pupetto Beach Club was the casual restaurant at our hotel and a great spot for lunch. We loved the pizza and spritzes with the best views
We also got room service pizza and drinks for dinner and loved enjoying it out on our balcony.
On our last day in Positano we went in town and grabbed sandwiches from Positano Vini e Panini. They also have a great selection of wine and snacks.
If you’re staying in Positano, I highly recommend making your dinner reservations as early as you can. It is a very small town but filled with tourists so it’s difficult to walk in at restaurants, especially the top-rated ones. The prices were more expensive than in Rome, but it didn’t seem like anything was super unreasonable. As you can tell, there’s no shortage of pizza in Positano 🙂
Posts in this series:
Florence
- Where to Stay & Eat
- Piazza Michelangelo & Ponte Vecchio
- Uffizi Gallery
- Santa Croce, Santa Maria Novella, Accademia
- Climbing the Duomo
- Duomo Museum, Bell Tower, & Baptistry
- Palazzo Vecchio & Tuscon Wine Tour
Rome
- Where to Stay & Eat
- Churches, Churches, & Churches Oh My!
- Borghese Gallery
- Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, & Pantheon
- St. Peter’s Basilica
- Victor Emmanuel Monument & Capitoline Museum
- Forum & Palatine Hill Tour
- Colosseum Tour
- Castel Sant’ Angelo
- Twilight Trastevere Rome Food Tour
- Vatican Museum – Prime Experience
- St. Peters Dome & Square